A Red Admiral Butterfly, Vanessa atalanta, nectaring upside down on a White Buddleja flower.
Red Admirals are one of the species of butterfly which come into my garden in a small time window in late August-early September to feed on my Buddleja bushes. They are relatively large butterflies and easy to recognise because of the red (male) or orange-red (female) stripes contrasting with brown-black wings and white spots near the wing-tips.
There is a smallish resident population of Red Admiral butterflies in the UK, but most of those we see in the cooler areas have originated in mainland Europe, having migrated northwards in May and June.
They don’t always feed upside down, of course. Here’s another feeding on the same Buzz Buddleja bush on a different day.
A horizonal crop of this photo, with more copyspace on the left, is available to license as a Stock Photo from my portfolio at iStock.
